A plate of five chicken skewers is seen at Ippuku in Berkeley, Calif., on Wednesday, September 22, 2010.

A plate of five chicken skewers is seen at Ippuku in Berkeley, Calif., on Wednesday, September 22, 2010.

Photo: Laura Morton, Special To The Chronicle

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A strong flavor of Japan at Ippuku in Berkeley

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Maybe it was caused by the invasion of sushi restaurants into every Bay Area neighborhood, but we've fallen in love with Japanese food. Yet until recently it's largely been a one-dimensional infatuation.

Now a growing number of young chefs - often Americans who have lived in Japan - are diving deeper into the cuisine, at places such as Nombe in San Francisco and the new Ippuku in Berkeley.

In fact, Ippuku goes further than any place else. This is the first place I know in the Bay Area that serves shochu, sake and beer, but not even one wine.

It also delves into the Japanese love affair with chicken, with chef Christian Geideman being confident enough to offer chicken tartare ($9), something that a waiter says makes everyone feel a little queasy when they first see it on the menu.

"But," he added, "It seems to loosen everyone up, once they order it. It's wild."

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In fact, it's a double dose of culinary danger, not only from the raw chicken that we've been told can harbor all kinds of bad things, but from a raw quail egg yolk on top.

Others at my table were a little reluctant to try it, but we forged ahead and took tentative bites. It has a texture akin to tuna tartare with a meatier flavor, creamy from being chopped. It's loaded with spices and chiles and scattered with radish sprouts.

When you part the black fabric at the door of Ippuku, it feels as if you're moving into a separate world created by Geideman and Paul Discoe.

There's the bar, with 24 bottles of shochu suspended upside down on spigots - each is offered by the glass or bottle - and a few stand-up tables for those who want to have a quick drink and a bite.

Farther back are booths and tatami-like rooms with rough concrete walls. Diners remove their shoes and sit on pillows in a modified pit surrounding the wood table. Black scored concrete floors and the natural wood trim lend to the rustic, artisanal feel.

As the night progresses, the smoke coming from the kitchen in back fills the 66-seat dining room with a purple haze and needles its way into every square inch of your clothes. You can see Geideman fanning the smoke with a broad bamboo fan, but it's a losing battle.

Combining expertise

Still, he's a master at grilling, and his partner is a master at Japanese carpentry, spending five years in Kyoto doing apprenticeships and working in the trade. It took them more than a year to put the Ippuku space together and six months to build it out.

Geideman owned Kasasoba in Santa Fe, but moved here in 2007 to work in several restaurants, including chef de cuisine at Ozumo. He did several stages in Japan and came back vowing to create a similar experience in the Bay Area.

Ippuku's four-page menu takes awhile to maneuver and is hard to read in the restaurant's dim lighting. Fortunately the staff, while lax in some areas, is helpful in leading customers through the complicated arrangement of dishes.

When you sit down, the waiter brings a wedge of raw cabbage with miso mayonnaise to peel off the petals, dip in the sauce and eat at leisure. It's a perfect accompaniment to the shochu and sakes and passes the time while you leaf through the menu.

The first page is nothing but chicken served on skewers: thigh, skin, liver, gizzard, minced, shoulder blade, tail, thigh oyster, breast cartilage and the like. They're priced from $6 to $8 an order, with five sticks for $14.

Don't pass up the wing, simply seasoned with sea salt. Breast meat comes rolled with shiso leaves, which lend an herbal, almost medicinal flavor. Minced chicken resembling a small corndog is served with a raw egg yolk on the side for dipping. The texture of the meat is almost custard-like, with the added slip of the raw egg.

The final page includes some exceptional soups (all $6) such as small portions of ramen and udon with chunks of chicken and a meaty, intense broth that tastes as if it is triple strength. I also loved the chicken and rice porridge, with the grains just beginning to break down and soak up the rich flavors.

Focus on fowl

Chicken shows up in just about every category, including a Chinese-style chicken salad ($7) with shreds of barely cooked breast meat served with sesame dressing and bean sprouts. There's also Japanese style fried chicken ($7), but my favorite is minced chicken with turnips ($9), a dish I would come by for weekly if I had the chance.

Three tender turnips cooked in broth sit in the center of a creamy pool of minced chicken. It's an earthy, soulful dish, and not at all "fancy" like it's listed.

Others in that category include local sea urchin ($12), five large lobes crisscrossed over paper-thin slices of lemon and a drizzle of ponzu; and thin slices of grass-fed beef tenderloin ($12), again drizzled with ponzu.

Vegetable offerings include grilled okra ($5), which aren't the least bit slimy when cooked over dry heat; and tomatoes wrapped in bacon ($6). There's also a mixed plate of pickles ($6) - daikon, squash and others that have almost a stiff cartilage-like texture that distinguishes this type of pickle. The order also includes pickled plums that are puckery sour but when followed by a swig of sake bloom like cherry blossoms in spring.

Another not-to-miss dish: bacon-wrapped mochi ($5) which brings together the smoky crispness of the wrapping and the chewy gooey goodness of the rice balls. Tofu is served in various preparations, including skins with wasabi ($6) and crisp cubes in dashi broth ($7).

Staff still learning

The menu is peppered with other interesting items, including a whole large Pacific squid ($10), splayed on a plate. However, the membrane on the outside wasn't properly removed so when we tried to chew and swallow the rings, it produced long, unwieldy, thread-like residue.

The staff is good at pacing, but at times forgetful - not bringing spoons for the soup or clean plates for various courses, which led to distinct flavors of the individual dishes melding together.

By the time I finished only a fraction of the dishes I wanted to try, I was full. While the food may be intended to be eaten as a snack to accompany sake or shochu, being an American glutton I ended up eating as if I hadn't seen food in a week. But that's what is so compelling about Ippuku: Everything is geared to your pace. Drink, eat or do both. You can take your pick.

The wine list

If you don't know your way around the shochu landscape, as I don't, then you need to trust the waiters. If you try to decipher the 44 options without guidance, it's like being a beginner who happens to stumble into an advanced foreign language class.

For help, I turned to former Chronicle staff writer W. Blake Gray, who has lived in Japan and written about Japanese spirits. He was impressed with the list, both the breadth of what's offered and the reasonable prices. He likes the elegance of the Jinkoo ($9.30 glass/$65 bottle) and the wood-aged whiskey-like flavor of the Gokoo ($9.30/$65).

The restaurant staff is also good at making recommendations and explaining the types of shochu - those made with sweet potatoes (Imo), barley (Mugi), short rice (Kome), long rice (Awamori) and black sugar (Kokuto). They can be served either on the rocks, with cold water or with hot water.

They're also incorporated into cocktails with grapefruit ($7), yuzu ($7), oolong tea ($6) and umeboshi plum ($6). All of these are designed to go with the yakatori and other snacks on the menu.

If you want something more familiar, the list also includes about 17 sakes, also available in three sizes, with representation from Junmai ($6.50-$8 a glass), Ginjo ($9-$11) and Nama ($11.50-$12).

Prices are based on main courses. When entrees fall between these categories, the prices of appetizers help determine the dollar ratings. Chronicle critics make every attempt to remain anonymous. All meals are paid for by The Chronicle. Star ratings are based on a minimum of three visits. Ratings are updated continually based on at least one revisit.